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Bouncing Back

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By JOEY JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 26, 2008

On Jan. 8, the morning after his Savannah State University men's basketball team made national headlines, Coach Horace Broadnax said he didn't read a newspaper.

He didn't watch ESPN's highlights.

"I knew what happened," said Broadnax, a former Plant City High star.

And it was ugly.

Kansas State defeated the overmatched and road-weary Tigers, 85-25.

In the second half, Savannah State set NCAA records for the fewest points scored (four) and worst field-goal shooting performance (4.3 percent on 1-for-23) in the shot-clock era, beginning with the 1985-86 season.

"We took a good lick upside the head - everybody saw that," Broadnax said. "Nationally, people picked up on it, as you guessed they would. Of course, the kids took the result to heart. But you know what I'll remember? What happened in the next game."

The non-national news.

Three days later, Savannah State went to Bethune-Cookman and prevailed 50-36 for its third road victory this season (tripling last season's away-from-home output).

"We have to keep striving," said Broadnax, whose Tigers, playing as a Division I independent, are 10-14 in his third season. "We play these money games against powerful programs and it benefits our entire athletic program. There's a reality to it.

"We fight and scrap, but our margin for error is zero. Would it really have been a big deal to score five points instead of four at Kansas State? Yeah, we're not in the record books, but you still get your head handed to you. So you've got to maintain some perspective. I'm always looking at how we fight, how we respond."

Been There, Done That

When Broadnax accepted the job in the spring of 2005, he knew the task wouldn't be easy. The Tigers were coming off an 0-28 season, becoming only the second Division I program in the last 50 seasons to finish winless.

Predictably, initial progress was slow. Broadnax's first season: 2-28.

But in 2006-07, the Tigers improved to 12-18, getting eight victories against Division I opponents (four more than the previous four seasons combined). The high point was Savannah State's victory at Southern Miss, a Conference USA member. And now the Tigers are on pace to surpass last season's victory total (and they even have another brand-name win against Southern Miss).

Broadnax, who led Plant City to the 1982 Class 4A state title and played guard on the Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown team that won the national title in 1984, has experience at rebuilding. At Bethune-Cookman, Broadnax was 42-88 in five seasons. But he was twice named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference coach of the year, getting his greatest acclaim after transforming a hopeless team (1-26) to a squad that went 10-9 in the MEAC.

Midway through the 2001-02 season, Broadnax resigned to practice law (he previously was an attorney, but followed his heart to basketball).

"I truly believe we're headed in the right direction," Broadnax said. "We just need to match the intensity of the other team every single game. When the kids tell me they're working hard, I say, 'Are you working Maryland hard?' Because we play Maryland. We play teams like that. In the offseason, if you're running a below-average mile, that's not going to get it against a team like Maryland. We're to the point now where we've got a nucleus of guys who know what these games are like."

Savannah State has taken some notable lumps this season at Wisconsin (79-32), Nebraska (82-37), Marquette (77-37) and Maryland (75-48) - in addition to Kansas State.

"It was much more painful losing to Jacksonville," Broadnax said.

Savannah State fell 65-64 - after leading by four points with 10 seconds to play - against a Dolphins team that might be making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1986.

"We need to get games like that," Broadnax said. "It was a lost opportunity."

'Pity Parties' Don't Last Long

The cause might be aided if Savannah State entered a conference - school officials have been lobbying the MEAC - but until then it's a steady diet of big-money games and strategic scheduling. Broadnax said next season will bring return games against Sun Belt Conference opponents New Orleans and Florida Atlantic.

Until then, Broadnax and chief assistant Jay Gibbons (the former Kathleen High point guard and son of former Tampa prep coach Gordon Gibbons) are trying to attract more players who want an opportunity.

"The frustration - and the fun - of this job is we don't have the resources of other schools," Broadnax said. "I throw a few pity parties. But it doesn't last long. And I know when we do have success, it's extremely satisfying.

"We're building a program and working on a few areas at a time. Obviously, getting in a league would make things better. I still have to create a vision and blueprint so we can be successful. We're getting there."

Savannah State will get knocked down - a lot.

But will the Tigers get up?

When that happens, when everything comes together, Broadnax is reminded why he accepted the challenge.

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