Feature Articles

Dennie Bridges To Announce Retirement as IWU Head Coach

by Bob Quillman, 3/28/01

After 667 victories, 17 CCIW championships, 3 trips to the NCAA Division 3 Final Four, and 1 national championship, Illinois Wesleyan head basketball coach Dennie Bridges is stepping down. He will make the official announcement today at an 11:30am press conference at the Shirk Center.

Over a brilliant 36 year coaching career at his alma mater, Bridges compiled a 667-319 (.676) overall record, including an amazing 421-129 (.765) in the CCIW. His final game was a 76-73 comeback victory over Ohio Northern in the Division 3 Final Four consolation game in Salem, Virginia on March 17.

Bridges, a native of Anchor, Il. (25 miles east of Bloomington) attended Illinois Wesleyan from 1957 to 1961. At IWU he was a four-year letterman and starter in basketball and baseball and a three-year football letterman (and all conference quarterback). Bridges was a two-year captain on the basketball team and was voted most valuable player and all-conference his senior season. After graduation in 1961 he coached at Plainfield High School for 4 years before taking over as head coach of the Titans in 1965, replacing legendary coach Jack Horenberger.

A tremendous recruiter, Bridges' biggest catch came in 1973 when he lured St. Anne H.S. product Jack Sikma to Wesleyan. Sikma had scholarship offers from Bradley, DePaul, Kansas, Purdue, and Illinois, among other Division 1 schools. The 6'11 center led the Titans to conference championships in 1975, 1976, and 1977. He is the all-time leading scorer (2272 points) and rebounder (1405) in school history. Sikma was the 8th overall pick in the '77 NBA draft and started on Seattle's 1979 NBA championship team.

Other CCIW "Most Outstanding Player" winners coached by Bridges include Tom Gramkow (1970), Greg Yess (1982), Blaise Bugajski (1984), Jeff Kuehl (1989), David Caldwell (1991), John Lipic (1994), Chris Simich (1995), Bryan Crabtree (1997), Brent Niebrugge (1998), and Korey Coon (1999, 2000).

On the heels of his 1995-96 team's Division III 3rd place tournament finish, the best finish ever for an IWU team in a national playoff, the 1996-97 team won the national title and finished with a 29-2 record, the best since the 1935-36 team was 20-0. IWU has played in the NCAA tournament 14 times in 18 years of association with the NCAA. Bridges coached Illinois Wesleyan teams into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national tourney seven times, before moving to the NCAA in 1983.

Bridges 421 CCIW wins is the most in conference history. Jim Borcherding of Augustana (1970-1984) is second, some 233 victories behind, 188. With Bridges retirement, the winningest active coach in the CCIW is now Bosko Djurickovic with 160 wins. To eclipse Bridges' total, it would take Djurickovic almost 19 consecutive undefeated (14-0) CCIW seasons.

Bridges and his wife, Rita, have three grown children, all former IWU student-athletes. Angela Romani '85, a four-year regular in tennis, and her husband, Tim, live in Denver, Colo., with their two children - Alyssa (born in January 1990) and Carly (May 1992). Steve '86, a four-year baseball and football letterman, was a second-team Academic All-American in football once and a third-team selection in baseball twice. With a law degree from the University of Illinois, he is the director of business development for Ignite Sports Media in Chicago. Eric '87, a four-year basketball regular, has an MBA degree from the University of Iowa, and is employed in Bloomington by State Farm Insurance. Eric and his wife, April, are the parents of two children.

Between Bridges and his predecessor, Jack Horenberger, Illinois Wesleyan has had just two coaches in the last 57 years.

Bridges will continue to serve as Illinois Wesleyan's Athletic Director. The search for a coaching replacement has already begun.

From the bubble to the Final Four

By Bob Quillman, 3/13/01

for d3hoops.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — "It's tough to sit here. We've got four games left, and basically our season is over."

That’s what Illinois Wesleyan senior point guard Adam Osborn told Bloomington Pantagraph writer Randy Reinhardt on Feb. 10. It was minutes after his team lost at Wheaton, 67-63, leaving the Titans 6-4 in the CCIW, 15-6 overall.

Wesleyan head coach Dennie Bridges remembers the feeling. "I couldn’t have said it any better myself," reflected Bridges. "We weren’t playing well at all. And we also felt that the history of the selection process was against us, even if we did find a way to run the table."

It’s now mid-March, and Illinois Wesleyan is 23-6, and headed to the Final Four. Bridges, the winningest active coach in Division III at 666-318 (.677), couldn’t be happier for his team.

After the loss to Wheaton, IWU got back in the win column by defeating North Central four days later. "We didn’t play great in that game, but we won," said Bridges. "The most important thing is it gave us a tiny bit of momentum and some confidence for the big one with Elmhurst."

Titan fans came out in force on Feb. 17, as CCIW leader Elmhurst came to town. The home team did not disappoint, as IWU won a convincing 71-63 contest over the Bluejays. That set up another big showdown on Feb. 21, with then-No. 1 Carthage coming to the Shirk Center. In a game Illinois Wesleyan led by as many as 27 points, the Titans protected their home court yet again, defeating Carthage 83-71. The win secured a perfect 12-0 season at home for IWU in the regular season.

"After the Elmhurst and Carthage games, we knew we were a good basketball team again," said Bridges. Looking ahead to the final game, I thought it was important for us to beat Millikin convincingly to have any shot. There were questions about our play on the road, and we hoped to answer those."

And answer the Titans did. In a game that was never close, Illinois Wesleyan ended their CCIW season in style, trouncing rival Millikin 96-65 in Decatur.

That put Bridges’ team was squarely on the bubble. At 19-6 overall, IWU’s record was not as gaudy as many of the other Pool C candidates in the nation. What Illinois Wesleyan did have in its favor, however, was six wins over potential tournament teams — more than any team in the nation. In addition to victories over CCIW opponents Carthage and Elmhurst, the Titans had non-conference wins against Aurora, Benedictine, Washington U., and MacMurray.

IWU’s biggest obstacle was probably the fact that 2 other CCIW teams were already locks for the tournament — Elmhurst as the conference champ, and 21-4 Carthage as a Pool C team. Many doubted the national selection committee would take three teams from any conference in a 48 team field.

"I thought our chances were 50/50. No better, no worse," said Bridges. "But we knew if the committee actually looked at the strength of our schedule, and the quality of our wins, they’d see we belonged."

At 8:15pm on Selection Sunday, Bridges got a call from one of his assistant coaches, David Steinbrueck, who was listening to the Selection Show on the Internet. Steinbrueck only needed to say two words — "we’re in."

Having been invited to the tournament for the 14th time in Illinois Wesleyan’s 18 years of NCAA membership, Bridges remembers the feeling. "I was tickled. It meant we had a chance to salvage our season. It also meant getting some important playoff experience for our really young team."

Bridges is no stranger to Salem, Va. His 1996 Illinois Wesleyan squad won the Midwest/South sectional in Roanoke, Virginia, earning a chance to go to the Final Four for the first time in school history. The Titans battled eventual champion Rowan to the buzzer, but came up one basket short, 79-77. Wesleyan defeated Franklin & Marshall by 32 points in the third-place game Saturday night.

The following season (1996-97), after graduating four starters and six of his top seven players, Bridges led his alma mater back to Salem behind Division III Player of the Year Bryan Crabtree. After a comeback victory against Alvernia in the national semifinal, the Titans withstood a furious second half charge to defeat Nebraska Wesleyan 89-86. The national championship season was one Bridges will never forget.

"One thing you find out in the Final Four, is that there’s a big difference between winning a national championship and finishing anywhere else," Bridges said. "As proud as we were of our performance in 1996, ultimately we didn’t achieve our goal."

There was never any doubt who the go-to guy was with Crabtree on the floor. The 2000-01 Titans do not have a superstar, but they do have a very dangerous balance.

The Titans are led in scoring by 6-7 sophomore forward Luke Kasten. A unanimous 1st Team All-CCIW selection, Kasten averages 16.2 points and 5.2 rebounds a game. He’s a strong post player, and is also a good jump shooter.

Six-foot-two sophomore guard Laban Cross scored 38 points in the two sectional games at Chicago, and is averaging 11.4 points per game on the season. Cross is 36-for-83 (.474) from beyond the arc.

Senior point-guard Adam Osborn leads to team in assists with 4.2 per contest. Osborn is a good penetrator, and a streak shooter from three-point range. He averages 11.3 points.

The Titans' fourth player averaging double digit points is 6-7 senior center Todd Wente. In addition to his 10.2 points, he also pulls down 5.1 rebounds per game.

Illinois Wesleyan’s leading rebounder in 6-4 sophomore forward John Camardella, who averages 6.6 rebounds per contest in addition to 8.4 points. A tremendous leaper, Camardella is also the team’s inspiration leader. Camardella did not play the final 39 minutes, 30 seconds of the Chicago game, and is questionable for the Final Four.

The Titans got good news Monday, however, as an MRI indicated Camardella did not tear his anterior cruciate ligament as originally feared. He does have a stretched ligament (which he has played with since December), torn cartilage and a bone bruise on his left knee, which has caused swelling.

"I’m not counting on John in my plans right now, but it sure would be a nice bonus if he can play," said Bridges.

Sophomore center Seth Hubbard was another one of the heroes of the sectional, scoring 27 points combined in the Elmhurst and Chicago games. If Camardella cannot play, the 6-7 Hubbard will most likely get the starting nod.

Forwards Ryan McCreery and Mike Rogers (both 6-5), and sophomore guards Eric Starkey (6-3) and Chris Silagi (6-2) round out Wesleyan’s 10-man rotation.

"The (1997) national championship team did not have Final Four experience outside of Bryan (Crabtree), but they were much more of a veteran team than this one," said Bridges. "Everyone except Korey (Coon) had paid their dues on the JV team, and been through the battles with us. Luke, Seth, Laban, and John have never even played in a JV game. And six of my top nine are sophomores – there’s no way of getting around it, we’re young."

Bridges doesn’t know quite what to expect from semifinal opponent William Paterson. But he’s heard all about All-American Horace Jenkins.

"I talked to a coach in their league yesterday. He said the only thing he could compare him to is Allen Iverson. It’s impossible to keep him from getting his shot, and he is very unselfish.

"We’ll just have to guard Jenkins as well as we can, and make sure the other guys on the floor don’t kill us. I’ll have a better feel after I watch the tape (of the Christopher Newport game) today."

So without knowing what to expect, the young 2001 Illinois Wesleyan squad leaves for Salem on Wednesday.

"We have a big picture of the Salem Civic Center in our locker room," said Bridges. "It’s a photo of Bryan Crabtree shooting a free throw against Nebraska Wesleyan… the kids look at it every day.

"Come Friday, that picture will be more than a dream for them, and I’m pretty excited about that."

Assistant Coach Steinbrueck Gladly Works "For the Love of the Game"

By Bob Quillman, 2/1/00

Being the third of three coaches at a major Division 1 school is hardly a glamorous job. But think about being the #3 man on the bench at a Division 3 school. Such is the life of Illinois Wesleyan part-time assistant basketball coach David Steinbrueck..and the 41 year old State Farm Business Analyst loves every minute of it.

A native of Boonville, Missouri Steinbrueck (pronounced "Stine-brook") graduated from William Jewel College in 1981. Shortly after graduation he married his high school sweetheart, Mary Liz, who was working for State Farm Insurance.

In 1982 Steinbrueck accepted a job at Kemper Military School & College, a junior high through college level institution in Missouri. In addition to teaching 6 history classes, he served in the following roles: assistant high school football coach, head junior college basketball coach, head J.C./H.S. tennis coach, and assistant H.S. track coach. All this for the whopping salary of $11,500 per year.

After 4 years he was named Athletic Director (in charge of 27 sports) and had coaching responsibilities for the junior college basketball team only.

In 1986 Mary Liz was promoted with State Farm, and the Steinbruecks moved to Bloomington, Illinois. After finishing his Masters degree at Illinois State University in 1987, David wanted to get back into coaching basketball. Division 1 Illinois State had a full crew of graduate assistants, so Steinbrueck decided to check with the Division 3 school in town, Illinois Wesleyan.

"Basically, I just walked into Dennie's (Bridges) office at the Fieldhouse one day and said I wanted to help" explains Steinbrueck. "He said, 'I'd love to have you but I don't have anything in the budget to pay you." Steinbrueck walked out of the Fred Young Fieldhouse that day as the "Volunteer assistant basketball coach" at Illinois Wesleyan. (IWU baseball coach Dennie Martel is the full-time assistant to Dennie Bridges.) In David's first season ('87-88) the Bill Braksick/Jeff Kuehl led Titans reached the Elite Eight, losing a heartbreaker to eventual champion Ohio Wesleyan 106-103.

After the '88-89 season, Mary Liz was promoted with State Farm once again and the Steinbrueck's moved to Austin, Texas. "It was hard walking away from Wesleyan, but it was the right move for us at the time" said Steinbrueck. "I kept in close contact with people in Bloomington and followed the Titans each season I was down there."

During the summer of 1992, State Farm came calling for Mary Liz again and the Steinbrueck clan (including 3 year old Kyle and newborn Jordan) headed back to Bloomington. With IWU graduate Mark Edmundson filling the part-time assistant role, David took a job as the freshman basketball coach at Normal University High School during the 1993-94 season. When "Eddie" left to take a job with Country Companies, the door was open for Steinbrueck to rejoin the staff at Illinois Wesleyan.

In the 5 full seasons Steinbrueck has been back, Illinois Wesleyan has a cumulative record of 120-23 (.839). This includes 3 CCIW championships, 5 playoff appearances, 4 Sweet 16's, 2 Final Fours, and a national championship. IWU's record in the CCIW during that stretch is 61-9 (.871).

"It's been an amazing run, with some exceptional kids leading the way" reflects Steinbrueck. When asked what his most memorable experience has been to date with IWU, he responded "I guess it'd have to be the national championship team. And not just that we won it, but the way we did it. I mean, we lost all but one kid from a national 3rd place team…we were picked to finish 3rd in the CCIW. And behind a superstar, a bunch of kids up from JV, and a freshman we win a national title."

Of course, the fact that those JV players turned out to be so successful wasn't a surprise to some. The '96-97 JV team, coached by Steinbrueck, went 22-0. This included sweeps over every JV squad in the CCIW, as well as 3 victories over IWU alumni teams. In one of those alumni games, then 35 year old Blaise Bugajski ('84) scored 40 points. "When Blaise got to about 20 points in the first half, Hoder (who was guarding him) looked at me and put his arms in the air as if to say, 'What can I do?'" recollects Steinbrueck. "All I could say was, 'Don't worry Matt, no one in the CCIW ever figured it out either.'" (Bugajski is IWU's 2nd all-time leading scorer with 2062 career points.)

Steinbrueck's duties with the IWU staff include: coaching the JV team and working with those players in practice, working with the guards during breakdown drills, and being in charge of the Titan's zone defense, which is used on occasion. "But I think my biggest role is that of devil's advocate" said Steinbueck. "It's my job to make sure Dennie is always thinking of every option. He may only use 1 of my 10 suggestions during a certain game, but if it that one helps us win a game, I've done my job."

Helping the Titan basketball squad has always just been a part-time job for Steinbrueck. David works for State Farm Insurance as a Business Analyst at the Corporate headquarters. He points to the flexibility State Farm has allowed him as a big reason he's able to work with IWU. "I couldn't pull this off without some real good people at State Farm accomadating my schedule."

Wesleyan basketball has become quite a family affair for the Steinbrueck family. 11 year old Kyle has served as the Titan's waterboy for the last 2 seasons and 7 year old Jordan has been wearing an IWU cheerleading uniform to games since she was 2. Mary Liz makes every game at the Shirk Center, and many road contests. "Probably what I love most about IWU basketball is the fact that there's such a sense of family and community. Look in the stands sometime at all the people who bring their kids to the game, and all the people from town who come to support the team…it's really special."

On working with Dennie Bridges, the "winningest active coach in Division III", Steinbrueck says "It's just extremely rewarding. He's such a good coach, and recruits such nice kids that work so hard, winning is very special." Steinbrueck also marvels at the Bridges' offensive scheme. "He may be better than any coach, anywere, at teaching kids how to put the ball in the basket. He's been running the same offensive sets and inbounds plays for 30 years, but no one can consistently stop them." Steinbrueck went on to say, "At many of our conference games, opposing players or coaches call out our plays as we start to run them…but they still work. That's a credit to the execution Dennie teaches."

While listing the most outstanding players he has seen at IWU as Bill Braksick, Jeff Kuehl, Chris Simich, Bryan Crabtree, and Korey Coon, Steinbrueck gives just as much credit to some of the "unknown" guys over the years. "When you ask about great players, sure those guys come to mind, but I also think about Andy Jones and Matt Mann and Kyle Tudeen and kids like that. Those guys come here knowing they may never be a starter, but they bust their butt in practice for 4 years. Those are the guys that make us better."

Since rejoining the team in 1994, Steinbrueck has received a small stipend from IWU for his work. But considering he's on the bench for every JV and varsity game, makes every practice, and helps in the recruiting process, his "wage per hour" certainly doesn't work out to very much.

"This obviously isn't about the money" explains Steinbrueck. "I do this because I love it. I'll be around as long as they'll have me."

Familiar Face Helps North Central Prepare for IWU

by Bob Quillman, 1/21/00

North Central assistant coach David Kunka knows all about Illinois Wesleyan. As the Titan's captain for 3 years, and a starter since his freshman year, Kunka ('93) helped lead IWU to 2 CCIW championships (1991, 1992) and 3 trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs. His 1159 career points is good for 27th place on the all-time IWU scoring list and his .505 career field goal percentage is the highest of any guard ever to play at Illinois Wesleyan. Kunka earned 1st team All-CCIW honors as a junior in 1991 before an ACL tear in the season opener at Northwestern in '92.

As Kunka helps head coach Bob Bray and the North Central Cardinals (3-2 CCIW, 7-9) prepare for the Titans (4-0, 12-3) he points out that not much has changed with the system he played in. "They run 5 main offensive sets. 4 of them are identical to what we used when I was there…and the 5th is just a modified version of another we used." But David also knows that stopping the Wesleyan offense is not an easy task. "It's what he (Bridges) spends most of his time on in practice. They do the same things over and over and over again. Through all that repetition, when games come they usually execute perfectly."

Containing Illinois Wesleyan All-American guard Korey Coon is the primary concern for the Cardinals. Coon enters the game averaging 22.2 points per game. Coon leads the nation in free throw percentage with an amazing 93 made in 96 attempts (.969). Coon has made 42 of 97 (.433) 3-point attempts on the season. 6-2 senior Eric Phillips (Normal West) will get the assignment on Coon. "We have to find a way to contain Korey, but we can't worry about it so much we let everyone else beat us" explained Kunka.

"We also have to pressure some of the passers. Osborn is too good a passer to give a lot of space." Coon's backcourt mate Adam Osborn leads the supporting cast, averaging 10 points a game, while leading the team in assists (51) and steals (22). Osborn is regarded as one of the best defenders in the CCIW. 6'7 freshman Luke Kasten provides a solid inside presence for the Titans with 14.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest. 6-6 forward Todd Wente is coming off a 13 rebound performance in IWU's win at Wheaton last week. 6-4 Ryan McCreery rounds out the starting five, but 6-6 Mike Pope and 6-7 Seth Hubbard average more minutes per game. 6-4 freshman John Camardella scored 9 points in 11 minutes at Wheaton.

Kunka does see the Wesleyan youth and inexperience as a factor. "As good as they are, freshman just don't see the floor like, say, Korey and Adam do. And they have lost a lot of strength with Happ and Hurst out."

North Central features one of the up and coming players in the CCIW in 6-0 junior Yulander Wells (Chicago St. Rita H.S.). Wells averages 18.8 points per game, and has connected on 18-45 (.400) 3-pointers. "Yulander can create his own shots, but he's much more effective when we establish an inside game" said Kunka. That's where the Cardinals look to an assortment of players - 6-5/210 Brian Lee (8.5 ppg), 6-5/200 Andy Bohn (8.6 ppg), 6-7/190 Bill Stang (6.4 ppg) and 6-8/200 Dan Rolfing (3.5 ppg). Eric Phillips is the Cardinal's second leading scorer at 9.1 per game.

When asked if his familiarity with the IWU system gives North Central an advantage in preparing for IWU, Kunka responded, "Well it helps me I guess, but I'm not the one who has to play. I can tell Brian (Lee) not to get beat backdoor 100 times, but ultimately when Kasten makes that cut it's up to him to recognize. We just need to play our game and find a way to get good looks."

After going 1-13 in CCIW last season, North Central opened the 2000 campaign by beating one of the conference favorites, Carthage, on the road. This remains the Redmens' only loss. North Central dropped a close one at home last week to Wheaton, before drilling Millikin 81-63. Wednesday they fell to 3-2, after losing at Augustana 71-63. Kunka sees the Wesleyan game as a "must-win" if North Central is to contend for a CCIW Championship. "This is a real big game for us and for the conference race. We're just trying get in position to put ourselves in position."