Newcomers Help Continue Program's Success
Tom Davis
Virtually every men’s basketball roster at the collegiate level is written in pencil in this day and age, as players are much more mobile in their destinations than ever before. However, at Purdue Fort Wayne, their best have returned year after year because of the player development (23 professionals since 2011), caring for by their coaches, playing style, community support and overall college experience. Unfortunately, they eventually have to move on after graduation which five did in the spring of 2023 after a decorated tenure.
The 2023-24 Mastodons only returned 18.4 percent of their scoring from last year’s squad, after graduating five of their top six scorers, and 14.8 percent of the minutes played. However, what hasn’t changed, be it from last winter to this, or even through a decade of head coach Jon Coffman leading the program, is the foundational aspects that Purdue Fort Wayne basketball is built upon.
The Mastodons recently wrapped up a calendar year (2023) in which the program, with two different types of structured teams, won 20 of its 32 games (62.5 percent).
“Both groups are very similar in terms of their unselfishness,” Coffman said of his last two teams, “how they play, and their believing in the organization.”
A year ago, Coffman utilized a roster that was built on experience (the team had a combined 35 seasons of experience at the collegiate level), which is markedly different than this season.
At the NCAA Division I level, the Mastodons’ (13-2, 4-0 Horizon League) top scorer (junior guard Rasheed Bello) is in his first season, as is Purdue Fort Wayne freshman guard Corey Hadnot II, who ranks fifth on the team in points scored and sixth in minutes played.
Coffman’s other top scorer (sophomore guard Jalen Jackson is tied with Bello in points scored), as well as his third (5th-year guard Anthony Roberts), sixth (sophomore forward Maximus Nelson), and seventh leading scorers (sophomore center Eric Mulder), are each in just their second season of college basketball.
“Last year’s roster, there were five graduates,” Coffman said, “four of them were starters on our first Horizon League championship team (in 2021-22), and the other was the (Horizon League) Sixth Man of the Year. It was a different roster (also), in that we had much more size.
“They are different teams, yet each one of the players in last year’s group would have tremendous success with this year’s group. And vice-versa.”
The continuation of success comes from maintaining the culture of unselfishness, regardless of who is wearing a Mastodon uniform.
A year ago, Purdue Fort Wayne averaged 13.1 assists per game and this year that number has increased to 13.9. The Mastodons’ 209 total assists rank second in the 11-team Horizon League this season.
“Those guys (in 2022-23) set the table for the success that we have had (this season),” Coffman said. “We had really good leadership in terms of love for the program.
“All of those guys just loved our place. So, what has happened is that it follows this unconditional belief of ‘Hey, be us and do what this program does.’”
That “love for the program” is embodied by a daily creed of personal sacrifice that the team recites before every practice and game. That tradition was started by former Purdue Fort Wayne coach Dane Fife in 2005 and carries on to this day.
“It has carried through Dane as the head coach,” Coffman explained, “to (Tony Jasick) as head coach to me. It connects the generations.”
The victory over Detroit Mercy gave Purdue Fort Wayne a tie for the best 15-game start in program history (1988-89 and 1992-93 teams did the same) and the best start at the NCAA Division I level.
“There are so many people building teams these days,” Coffman said, “and we’re building a program. They have these shared experiences which go from generation to generation.”