Steve Tappmeyer is doing his best to make men's basketball relevant again at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and the team is rapidly following suit.
In their second season under Tappmeyer, the Tritons (13-4) sit atop the West Division of the Great Lakes Valley Conference with an 8-1 record heading into tonight's game at Quincy (12-5, 5-4).
UMSL this season got off to one of the best starts in the program's 45-year history, with a 10-game winning streak that included the first six games of its conference schedule. Tappmeyer's colleagues are starting to notice; the Tritons have received votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll the past three weeks.
The Tritons have a good mix of youngsters and veterans, though just two are holdovers from Tappmeyer's predecessor, Chris Pilz. Their success has come not as the result of a quick fix, but from Tappmeyer's proven formula of building leadership from within.
Tappmeyer came to UMSL after 21 years at Northwest Missouri State, where he led the Bearcats to the NCAA Division II tournament eight times in the last 10 years. His success remained in the shadow of Northwest's noted football program, though.
Tappmeyer retired after the 2008-09 season, but UMSL lured him back into coaching after just one season away. Tappmeyer said he liked the school's proximity to his family in Gerald, Mo., 75 miles southwest of St. Louis, and the philosophy of building a program that he shares with UMSL athletics director Lori Flanagan.
"I had a chance here to work with people who were a good fit," Tappmeyer said. "I thought I had a chance to get the job done."
Tappmeyer took over a program that had just two winning seasons in the last decade and achieved dramatic results in his first year. Despite being hired in April 2010 and scrambling to fill the roster after signing day, Tappmeyer and the Tritons finished 16-11, the program's best record in 20 years, and 10-8 against conference opponents, their first winning record ever against league foes.
With more time to mold a roster, Tappmeyer has just five players remaining from last year.
"We had some success last year, but the guys we brought back have made strides to become leaders," Tappmeyer said. "We're moving in the right direction in that regard. We have more players who can score. I think we're better balanced than last year, but the leadership is the biggest thing."
Center Zach Redel, a senior from Webster Groves, transferred to UMSL as a sophomore when Pilz was coach and has tried to take on a leadership role.
"Coach Tappmeyer has been able to get higher quality players and to get a lot out of them," Redel said. "Since I'm one of the two guys who has been here the longest, I know a lot about the system and help the new guys figure it out."
The Tritons' leading scorers are all new to Tappmeyer's system this year. Senior Troy Long transferred from SIU-Carbondale and averages 17.2 points. Joshua McCoy, a junior from Zumwalt South who transferred from Cleveland State, contributes 13.5 points. Charlie Woods, another Cleveland State transfer, leads UMSL with 6.6 rebounds and contributes 10.7 points a game.
Tappmeyer, though, isn't afraid to give anyone a chance to contribute and to start building leadership early. Freshman Neil Branham from Troy Buchanan has started the past eight games since scoring 14 points in a victory over Culver-Stockton.
"I was surprised," Branham said. "A lot of coaches tell you that if you practice hard, you can play, but he really meant it."
The Tritons have a relatively comfortable lead of three games over Quincy and two games over Illinois Springfield, their opponent Saturday. The challenges tonight are that Quincy's leading scorer, senior forward Justin Brock, has just returned from injury and that the Hawks have lost just once at home this season.
"To this point, this team has risen to the challenge," Tappmeyer said. "I'd be concerned if there wasn't a challenge."
