George W. Bush was the president, the New York Giants won the Super Bowl, American Idol was the most popular show on television and Tiger Woods was still on top of the world.
All of these things happened the last time the Indiana Wesleyan University men’s basketball team didn’t win at least a share of the Crossroads League regular season title.
The Wildcats have won seven straight titles, dating all the way back to 2009. It’s been a remarkable run for Coach Greg Tonagel and his teams. Coach Tonagel has helped build this program into a dynasty, comparable to what Coach Bill Self is doing at The University of Kansas. Self has won ten straight conference titles with the Jayhawks.
The players have nothing but good things to say about Coach Tonagel. After taking time to gather his thoughts on how much the staff deserves credit for the team’s success, freshman Ben Carlson said he thinks the Wildcats have the best coaching staff in the entire country.
Lane Mahurin (so) also said the reason for the seven straight conference titles is due to the coaches.
“It all starts with the coaches,” Mahurin said. “They set the vision and desired destination for the team. They recruit the type of guys that they feel can accomplish those goals, and they mold high school players into championship caliber men by the time they leave.”
Coach Tonagel, on the other hand, attributed his players as the reason for the titles.
“It’s a testament to the young men that have won the seven titles,” Tonagel said. “We’ve had incredibly talented student athletes who have been really committed.”
Of course for Coach Tonagel’s teams, titles are not the focus. Tonagel said his team’s goal is to serve God first and live by the “I Am Third” motto.
“We aren’t solely focused on winning; winning is a byproduct,” said the tenth-year coach.
DJ Bettinger (sr) said the team has bought in to the mantra as well.
“I think for us every time we go out there, we view it as an opportunity to worship and glorify God,” Bettinger said. “That never gets old for us. So, you know, we could be playing a game that doesn’t really necessarily matter, but to our schedule or ranking, but we view it as an opportunity to glorify God. So that’s always our motivation.”
On a team so deep in talent and so successful as the Wildcats have been, it’s common for players to butt heads with teammates because they feel they aren’t getting enough attention or want a bigger part in the offense. But not with this team.
Jonny Marlin, the junior transfer from Indiana University said this team is one of the most unselfish teams he has ever been a part of.
“This team does a great job of sharing the ball and being unselfish which is evident through our assists numbers,” Marlin said. “The biggest difference between this team and the teams at IU is probably the unity and the genuine care this team has for their teammate both on and off the court.”
Winning conference titles is not only a positive for the players winning them, but also to high school players interested in playing for IWU. Coach Tonagel said he likes to recruit players from winning programs because they know how to win, and it has worked out well thus far.
Carlson said being able to go into a recruit’s house and say they have a chance to be part of a historic run is very hard to pass up as a player.
“Everyone wants to go to a winning program,” Carlson said. “They were open with playing time, that’d it be difficult to get playing time [the] first year, but when you’re willing to go to a winning program, you’re willing to give that up to be a part of something bigger.”
Although everyone loves winning, Coach Tonagel doesn’t believe that’s the most important aspect to coaching.
“We just want to see lives changed, to be honest,” Tonagel said. “Winning’s fun, but if lives aren’t being changed with winning, it’s pretty vain.”
The Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats have a shot to repeat as National Champions next month at the NAIA Division II National Championship Tournament. With another conference title and the number-one ranking in the nation, the Wildcats are in good shape to make a run to defend their title.