Summer 1999 - Kentucky Wesleyan College

Magnificent Seven earn
K entucky
Wesleyan’s
seven seniors —
Antonio Garcia,
Dana Williams,
Patrick
Critchelow,
Adam Mattingly,
Chris Haskin,
Jeff Krohman
and Will
McDonald —
were named
“The Magnificent
Seven”
before the 1998-
99 season began
because of their
30-3 NCAA
National Finalist
finish in 1998
and the expectations
of winning
the 1999
National Championship.
“The
Magnificent
Seven” lived up
to their nickname by winning
the college’s national recordbreaking
seventh NCAA
Division II National Championship,
when the Panthers
defeated Metropolitan State
(Colo.) 75-60 in Louisville,
Ky., on March 20.
The Panthers, enroute to a
35-2 record also won the
Disney Tip-Off Classic (Div.
II’s version of the Preseason
NIT), the Great Lakes Valley
Conference regular season (20-
2) and tournament titles and the
NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Championship.
Kentucky Wesleyan started
and finished ranked number one
in the nation and were number
one nine of 11 weeks during the
season. This was the first time
in KWC’s 88-year basketball
history that the Panthers
finished the season ranked
1999 NCAA National Champions
number one.
Leading the way for
Kentucky Wesleyan was
unanimous National Player of
the Year Antonio Garcia and
first-team All-American Dana
Williams.
Garcia led the Panthers in
scoring with an 18.5 point
average and led the nation in
rebounding with a 14.6 average.
Williams was second in
scoring with 16.7 points per
game and rebounding with 8.0
boards per contest.
Garcia and Williams made
Division II history when they
finished number one and two
for Division II Player of the
Year. It was the first time two
players from the same school
accomplished this feat.
Garcia made more basketball
history when he swept all
five National Player of the Year
awards.
Along with Garcia and
Williams, Patrick Critchelow,
Chris Haskin, Adam Mattingly,
and Leroy John set a new
NCAA national record for
games played in a season with
37. Critchelow and Mattingly
also set another new NCAA
national season record for
games started with 37.
Joining the seven seniors
were John, Gino Bartolone,
Anwar Perry, Rush Witt, Jason
Indestad and Travis Powell who
played two key and vital roles
for the success of 1999. They
provided tremendous support
coming off the bench during the
contests but also prepared the
starting unit every day in
practice for those games.
Head coach Ray Harper
was named Division II National
Coach of the Year, Great Lakes
Region Coach of the Year and
Great Lakes Valley Conference
Coach of the Year.
Harper’s sweep of all three
National Coach of the Year
awards was a first in Division II
history. His 86.9 winning
percentage of 86 victories in 99
games is the best in KWC
history.
Kentucky Wesleyan also
set three new NCAA Division
II national records during 1998-
99. They were the most wins in
a season, 35 (modern era); most
30-win seasons with two (30-3
in 1998 and 35-2 in 1999); and
most consecutive 30-win
seasons (1998 and 1999).
The accomplishments of
Garcia, Williams, Critchelow,
Haskin, Mattingly, Krohman
and McDonald have forever
been written in the history
books of Kentucky Wesleyan
and the NCAA. Now they leave
as legends for all-time as “The
Magnificent Seven.”
10 by Roy W. Pickerill ’75, Sports Information Director