The men's basketball program has long been a fixture on campus, but it has been only recently that Tarleton – formerly a highly successful junior college program – has started to reap honors through senior college competition.
The following story will take you on the journey of men's basketball at Tarleton State University.
It starts by remembering the glory days of junior college dominance and continues through the struggling years of adjusting to life on the senior college level. Finally, this story ends by assuring you that Tarleton's best days on the basketball court are still ahead.
Men's varsity basketball began at Tarleton almost from the beginning of the college. It was one of the first forms of intercollegiate athletics enjoyed on the campus.
John Tarleton Agricultural College was recognized in the early years as one of the state's most powerful junior college teams.
Outstanding individuals in the early years included such names as Roy Hudspeth, Vernon “Bunt” Adams, Monty Montgomery, Zelna Compton, and Brady Nix – all of whom played on Tarleton's state title teams between 1917 and 1926.
Beginning in 1934, under the direction of Coach W.J. Wisdom, the Tarleton Plowboys (as they were known then) won 86 consecutive games and were undefeated for four seasons.
In a 10-year span the team won 157 of 169 games, a record unmatched by any team. Several times during that streak, the Plowboys played four-year scholarship teams.
Names like Willard Baxter, Willie Tate, Joe Headstream, Oran Spears, James Britt, Elmer Finley, Jude Smith, Carl McConachie, Thurman “Slue” Hull, and Tommy Tinker were legends at Tarleton during the 1930s.
The Plowboy teams had varied success following World War II and in 1961, when the school began senior college competition, the team nickname was changed to the Texans.
Three of the biggest names in the senior college era of Tarleton basketball are Marshall Procter, Dwayne Johnson, and Ross Taylor. These three players put up impressive individual numbers during a span that saw Tarleton register just one winning record in the 27 seasons prior to Coach Reisman's arrival.
Procter (1959-63) was a dominant player while helping Tarleton make the transition from junior college to senior college. He remains the third leading scorer in Tarleton history, averaging 19.1 points per game to finish with 1,726 career points.
Despite standing just six feet and four inches tall, Johnson (1977-81) was the nation's leading rebounder during the 1980-81 season, averaging 16 boards a game. “D.J.” holds Tarleton's season and career rebounding marks.
Ross Taylor (1980-84), a four-year letterman guard, finished as the career scoring leader for Tarleton with 1,800 points – a record that was surpassed 12 years later. Taylor led the Texans to the University's first winning season as a senior college in 1984.
Current head coach
Lonn Reisman arrived on campus in 1988, and with him came instant success.
The 1988-89 team went 18-11 and the 1989-90 season produced Tarleton's best record as a senior college, 26-5. Jeffrey McFadden (1988-90) was named the District's Most Valuable Player that year and became Tarleton's first All-America men's basketball player.
The 1990-91 team also went 26-5 and Roderick Brown (1990-91) earned honorable mention All-America status. McFadden and Brown both were selected in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) draft by the LaCrosse (Wisc.) Catbirds.
The 1991-92 team won the District 8 title and became the first Tarleton team to compete for a national championship.
That '91-92 team advanced to the NAIA Division II national tournament, which also was hosted by Tarleton, and finished the season 26-10.
In 1992-93, Reisman coached Tarleton to another District 8 title as well as a second NAIA II national tournament appearance. The team posted a 22-11 mark as Sean Walker (1992-94) captured first team NAIA All-America honors.
The Texans made a third-straight trip to the national tournament in 1993-94, winning the Southwest Region title in Tarleton's last year of NAIA Division II membership. Sean Walker repeated as a first team All-America and Chris Givens (1991-96) was named to the second team All-America squad.
In 1994-95, the Texans began the process of moving their membership to NCAA Division II. Tarleton suffered back-to-back losing campaigns, but Givens still gave the Texans a reason to be proud.
Givens, who missed the 1994-95 season with a broken foot, returned in 1995-96 to become Tarleton's all-time scoring champion as he finished with 2,104 points in 123 games. He is the only Texan with 2,000 or more points to his credit.
As the 1990s came to a close, Tarleton grew more and more comfortable with its senior college status, winning at least 17 games in four straight seasons. The Texans were 13-13 during the 2000-01 campaign before establishing themselves as a conference and regional contender for the last four seasons.
In 2001-02, the Texans enjoyed their best-ever season at the Division II level to that point, finishing as Lone Star Conference South Division champions with a 25-8 record. Tarleton's men advanced to the LSC championship game for the second time in four years and made their first-ever NCAA Division II national tournament appearance, losing in the first round of the South Central Regional.
In 2002-03, the Tarleton men's basketball team went deeper into the NCAA playoffs than ever before, losing in the South Central Regional final to eventual national champion, Northeastern State, 56-46. The Texans finished the season 29-4 and as co-champions of the LSC North Division. Despite losing to West Texas A&M in the championship game of the LSC Postseason Tournament, Tarleton hosted the South Central Regional.
In 2003-04, the Texans again claimed the LSC North Division title and also won the LSC Postseason Championship Tournament. After playing host to that event,
Tarleton State hosted the South Central Regional in Wisdom Gym for the second straight year. Tarleton finished the season with a 28-4 record, 11-1 in North Division play.
Tarleton fell just short of winning its fourth straight division title in 2004-05, but the 25-9 Texans advanced to the NCAA Division II national semifinal contest at the
Elite Eight in Grand Forks, N.D. Tarleton won the school's first ever South Central Regional Tournament after defeating three nationally-ranked squads in the three-day event.
In 2005-06 season, for the first time in school history, the Texans start out ranked No. 1 in three different preseason polls. Tarleton made a return trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight thanks to back-to-back South Central Regional Championships. The Texans finished the season 27-7 and won the LSC South Division title with an 11-1 record in conference action. The Texans would fall short of their second straight semifinal match, but Tarleton recorded wins over NCAA Division I Lamar (in an exhibition) and Texas Christian University (in a regular season game).
With the recent success stories and continual progress toward joining the elite of Division II, it is easy to see that Tarleton's real glory days are yet to come. The men's basketball program has long been a fixture on campus, but it has been only recently that Tarleton – formerly a highly successful junior college program – has started to reap honors through senior college competition.
