Nebraska Sun Warriors

The History of a Franchise

By Brandon Morfeld

Season 1 In the Clutch

Record: 37-25 (4th in Pacific Division)

Leading Scorer: John Ferguson 24.8 PPG

Leading Rebounder: John Ferguson 11.2 RPG

Leading Assists: Chuck Archer 5.2 APG

Leading Steals: Bob Bennett 1.2 SPG

Starters: John Ferguson, Chuck Archer, Steve Combs, Ken Lacy, Bob Bennett

Major Trades: NONE

Season 1 was the only full season this franchise ran without its' current management. Of all the players named above you may recognize just one of the names if any. John Ferguson was the central piece of all the success this team had. I am hardly the expert to talk about this season since I wasn't around, but the one thing this team did have was experience. This was one of the oldest teams in the league and these guys knew their time was already limited even in the early stages of the leagues development. When it came playoff time the team made a huge push and the players pulled together to post upset after upset. They beat Marysville 3-0, then upset LA 4 games to 2. Midland was an even tougher challenge and the team eeked out a 4-3 series victory. In the Finals they met a very talented London team, but played the best ball of their lives en route to a 4-2 Championship Series victory. The team seemed to be headed in the right direction after a season of the leagues existence, but no one could predict what laid ahead for this team. I mean how could an ownership group lose interest with a championship caliber team?

Season 2 The Savior Arrives

Record: 21-59 (6th in Pacific)

Leading Scorer: Junior White 14.1 PPG

Leading Rebounder: Johnny Brose 8.3 RPG

Leading Assists: Bob Bennett 6.9 APG

Leading Steals: Johnny Brose 1.0 SPG

Starters: Junior White, Johnny Brose, Jesse Bradley, Bob Bennett, Ken Lacy

Major Trades: Traded Dave Booker and Mike James to WIN for Junior White and Arnold Moeller; Traded S4 1st, S3 2nd, John Ferguson, and Bill Owens for BER S3 1st, Pete Small, and Steve Foreman; Traded BER S3 1st and Mark Whitehead for IND S3 1st and Jesse Bradley.

The team started off the season very poorly and quickly the old management started looking for buyers for the team. They realized that the team had gotten too old already and that they had played themselves out the year before. They needed a new management team in that would be committed to turning the franchise around through a substantial time investment. The team had very little talent to work with and around halfway through the season, when the team had given up hope, a new management group was finally found; but they would only purchase the team if they were allowed to move them to Nebraska. The league was receptive to the idea and the new management was brought in to finish out the season and prepare the team for the new move. The league had no idea what was in store for them from this unproven owner. As soon as he arrived he was furiously active on the trade front trying to get this team a little more exciting and youthful. He traded the veteran Dave Booker to Winifred to get the flashy Junior White and then in a great move he dealt away the ancient John Ferguson to secure a high 1st round choice for the next draft. The crucial element here was that he dealt his pick for the next season also which meant this team had one shot to get over the hump. They had to have a good year the next season in order to make the trade worthwhile. As if this wasn't enough the brash new owner then traded away the Bermuda 1st to acquire the Indiana 1st along with strong rebounder Jesse Bradley. At this stage of the league Bradley was a great rebounder and the management knew that in order to win you have to be able to keep the ball in the hands of your scorers. By the time the season ended this was already a new look team. It was younger and had a better talent base with which to pursue other deals in the future. Not to mention that they owned a high draft choice for the upcoming draft.

Season 3 Year of the GM

Record: 56-24 (2nd in Pacific)

Leading Scorer: Wayne Taylor 27.4 PPG

Leading Rebounder: TJ McFarland 9.8 RPG

Leading Assists: Drake Bacheman 7.0 APG

Leading Steals: Dexter Kodak 1.7 SPG

Starters: Wayne Taylor, Rick Schulz, Rod Lawrence, Dexter Kodak, Jim Wilson

Major Trades: Traded #6 Pick and Johnny Brose to Midland for Garth Donohue, Xavier Schneider, Pick 43, Pick 56, and CIN 2nd in S4; Traded Pick #3 and #56 to Cancun for Picks 13, 15, and 31; Traded Pierce Shea and Maury Foreman to London for Rick Schulz; Traded SC S4 1st, NEB S4 2nd, Alonzo Hatfield, Al McCauley, and Bill Managano for Steve Peterson and Jo Gerlachs; Traded Steve Peterson and Heiko Van Brandt to Colorado for Dexter Kodak, Wayne Taylor, George Sewell, and COL S6 1st.

After the previous season there didn't appear to be much hope for this franchise at all. They had just traded away the last few staples of the championship team and suffered through their worst year in franchise history. The only hope for the future was a small glimmer that the new GM could make some impact trades and revitalize the franchise. He wasted no time in doing so as the draft neared. He traded away the #6 pick to snatch up Garth Donohue. This would be a bad trade by most standards today, but at the time Donohue was one of the leagues top scoring threats and Nebraska knew they needed to have a scorer. Morfeld (the new GM) then also traded the #3 pick to Cancun to acquire the 13th, 15th, and 31st picks. He knew that his team was going to need more than just one high pick to turn around, plus he realized the depth of the draft. At pick #13 he selected standout Heiko Van Brandt and later in the draft he picked Pierce Shea. Little did he know the importance of this initial draft. Pierce Shea was ultimately traded before the season even started for an amazing young talent at SG named Rick Schulz. Schulz went on to start for Nebraska and for most of the season he was labeled as the organization's premier player. The acquisition of him was the critical step in the evolution of the franchise. He added a bona fide starpower element to this franchise. Morfeld didn't stop there though. His next major step was to talk the Cincinnati management into trading their star player Steve Peterson. Morfeld was relentless in his pursuit of a PG and Cincinnati had expressed interest in a deal. Cincy finally gave in and moved Peterson citing a lack of money and the fact that they wanted to rebuild their squad. With this deal done Morfeld was able to put into motion the steps necessary to bring the best player in WBA history to the team. He packaged together rookie Heiko Van Brandt and Steve Peterson in a deal with Colorado to acquire sensational 2nd year player Wayne Taylor along with Dexter Kodak and a 1st round pick. This is one of the biggest deals ever in the history of the league. Wayne Taylor proceeded to lead the team in scoring and between himself and Rick Schulz they sent this team into the playoffs. In the first round they faced off against Cincinnati and cruised to a 3-1 series victory. In the 2nd round they were stifled however and the young team came up short losing 4-1 to Cancun. Brandon Morfeld went on to win the GM of the Year award for his amazing deals. A franchise was reborn.

Season 4 A Great Year

Record: 61-19 (2nd in Pacific)

Leading Scorer: Wayne Taylor 26.4 PPG

Leading Rebounder: Jim Wilson 8.8 RPG

Leading Assists: Dexter Kodak 6.1 APG

Leading Steals: Dexter Kodak 2.0 SPG

Starters: Wayne Taylor, Rick Schulz, Dexter Kodak, JJ Jordan, Jim Wilson

Major Trades: Traded TJ McFarland, Cory Mosley, S6 and S8 1st's to Roswell for Ed Kane and IND S8 1st; Traded Ed Kane to Varese for Kegan Salazar and VAR S5 1st.

This was a great season for this squad. The young players matured a little bit and they managed to win 60 games. They had just drafted JJ Jordan to play the PF spot as that was the perceived weakness with Rod Lawrence. Jordan didn't pan out as the PF that the team wanted though. The one regret is that they should have kept Cory Mosley and traded Jordan. Ed Kane didn't pan out as the PG they expected and he ended up being dealt away pretty cheaply. The Nebraska management was very disappointed about this, but the team stayed focused and they didn't miss a step. Dexter Kodak really came through and had a breakout year. Nebraska knew that at this rate they would never be able to re-sign him when his contract was up. He was a throw in with Wayne Taylor the year before and he was already developing into one of the premier PG's in the game. The trio of Kodak, Taylor, and Schulz gave Nebraska one of the leagues most potent backcourts. In the playoffs Nebraska avenged their defeat to Cancun the year before with a 3-2 series victory in Round 1. They did this by overcoming a 2-0 deficit in the series. It seemed that fate was on their side, but Cincinnati quickly dashed their hopes with a 4-0 sweep in Round 2. The team failed to get any farther in the playoffs than they had the previous year which frustrated the players and coaches.

Season 5 A Step Back

Record: 43-37 (3rd in Pacific)

Leading Scorer: Wayne Taylor 25.1 PPG

Leading Rebounder: Wayne Taylor 7.8 RPG

Leading Assists: Dexter Kodak 6.2 APG

Leading Steals: Wayne Taylor 1.6 SPG

Starters: Wayne Taylor, Bill Blackstone, Rick Schulz, Roy Base, Dexter Kodak

Major Trades: Traded Jim Wilson and Pick #7 for Pick #4; Traded Jim Fox, Sergey Ivanov, S10 1st, S9 2nd, and Donavan Jones to Chacarita for Bill Blackstone, and Jim Peyton.

The team made some major moves to draft Roy Base from Midwest State. The move ended up hurting the team as they missed the strong rebounding and defense of Jim Wilson. Base was a great rookie, but he still had a couple years before he would be ready to make an impact. The team needed to try and find a big man again to fill the PF spot also. They acquired Bill Blackstone who is one of the WBA's elite scorers. The problem with this move was tha the team didn't need any more scorers. They ended up struggling all year long to try and solidify their frontcourt, but could never find the right type of player. In the end they figured out that Roy Base was the problem and they needed to find a new C. They were unable to find one as the season drew to an end and they were forced to go into the playoffs as underdogs without a solid player in their frontcourt. It was a testament to the skill of their backcourt players that this team had the season it did. In the playoffs they once again fell behind 2 games to none in the first round to Oregon. They got hot at the right time though and managed to go on a 3-0 run to take the series. Once again though, in round 2 the team met with major failure and disappointment as they were swept out 4-0 by top seeded Colorado. The team knew that unless they could find some frontcourt power they were never going to get anywhere.

Season 6 They're Ba-ack

Record: 49-31 (2nd in Pacific)

Leading Scorer: Wayne Taylor 31.6 PPG

Leading Rebounder: Wayne Taylor 7.8 RPG

Leading Assists: Jimmy Whalen 7.3 APG

Leading Steals: Rick Schulz 1.7 SPG

Starters: Wayne Taylor, Rick Schulz, Al Zarra, Jim Fox, Jimmy Whalen

Major Trades: Traded Pick #18, #33, and S10 1st to Albacete for Pick #6; Traded Roy Base, Trent Jordan, and 3 2nd's to New York for Al Zarra and MON S7 1st; Traded Bill Blackstone to Birmingham for Jim Fox and BIR S7 1st.

Nebraska rebounded from the previous season with a nice 49 win campaign in Season 6. They made a major move in the draft to snag Jimmy Whalen. Whalen was a premier PG prospect and they had to replace Dexter Kodak who was lured away in free agency. Nebraska also realized that they still had to fix their frontcourt. They struggled to get a move pushed through all season long, but managed to snag Al Zarra from New York by trading hometown hero Roy Base and also made a trade for Jim Fox in order to dump the high salary of Bill Blackstone. This returned heavy scoring duties to Wayne Taylor who responded by leading the team to a very strong regular season finish and winning a league MVP Award. The frontcourt remained an issue with Jim Fox and Al Zarra both being prone to foul problems, but they both also played a well rounded style of game. Nebraska took the momentum into the playoffs and Wayne Taylor showed why he was the MVP. They swept Roswell in the first round and manhandled a very good Oregon team in round 2 4 games to 1. This put the team in the conference finals for the first time under Morfeld. They played a couple really close games, but ultimately Cancun cruised past them 4 to 1 to eliminate them. This ended the best playoff run the team had since Season 1.

Season 7 Division Champs at Last

Record: 59-21 (1st in Pacific)

Leading Scorer: Wayne Taylor 30.6 PPG

Leading Rebounder: Jim McCarthy 10.6 RPG

Leading Assists: Jimmy Whalen 8.1 APG

Leading Steals: Rick Schulz 2.2 SPG

Starters: Wayne Taylor, Jim McCarthy, Jimmy Whalen, Rick Schulz, Chuck O'Rourke

Major Trades: Traded Al Zarra to New York for Pick #23; Traded Picks #3, #20, and #23, Jim Fox, and Ramiro Watts to Cincinnati for Jim McCarthy; Traded Pick #13 to VI for Picks #23, #41, and #53;

This was the first season that the franchise had ever won a divisional crown and the players relished it. So did the management. The team went out and finally solidified their frontcourt by making a blockbuster trade to get Jim McCarthy. They traded young superstar Ramiro Watts and solid veteran Jim Fox along with 3 1st round draft picks to get him. They also signed tough rebounder Chuck O'Rourke to a free agent contract. McCarthy was arguably the games premier C and he brought something to the franchise that they had never had before--a dominating low post presence. The biggest issue with McCarthy and O'Rourke was their major fouling problems. O'Rourke was the teams weakness this season. The team went into the playoffs riding the high of winning a divisional championship. They ran past Utah in the first round 3 games to 1 and snuck past Texas in an amazing 2nd round series 4 games to 3. The team once again met mighty Cancun in the Conference Finals and they were up to the challenge. But once again they met with disappointment as Cancun closed out the series in 7 games.

Season 8 Time to Retool

Record: 47-33 (3rd in Pacific)

Leading Scorer: Wayne Taylor 29.2 PPG

Leading Rebounder: Wayne Taylor 8.2 RPG

Leading Assists: Dexter Kodak 7.1 APG

Leading Steals: Dexter Kodak 2.5 SPG

Starters: Wayne Taylor, Dave Williams, Roy Base, Dexter Kodak, Jack Spiegel

Major Trades: Traded Rick Schulz to New York for Picks 16, 33, and 35; Traded Jim McCarthy, Jimmy Whalen, CAN S9 1st, and Quintin Pitt for Dexter Kodak and Dave Williams; Traded Mathew Pitcher to Varese for Jack Spiegel.

The team opened the season with high expectations after the previous seasons success, but they quickly became disenchanted. The team struggled to find an identity as a power struggle ensued between Rick Schulz, Jim McCarthy, and Wayne Taylor. The management knew who was their cornerstone so they made a few changes. The first to go was Rick Schulz. He was traded in a cap move to New York to gain some draft picks. Nebraska used the picks to draft standout Quintin Pitt to play the SG spot. Part way through the season it became ever more apparent that Pitt wasn't going to get the job done this early in his career so Morfeld put into works a major 3-way deal that would shake up the league. He dealt away Jim McCarthy and young PG Jimmy Whalen, along with Pitt in order to bring All-Star SG Dave Williams to the team. Nebraska also was able to regain the services of fan favorite Dexter Kodak who had matured into a premier all around PG. The team also acquired Jack Spiegel to fill the Center spot and also picked up free agent Roy Base toa small contract. Base had a stellar offseason and had moved to a PF position where he could make an impact. The team was finally set the way Morfeld envisioned it by the time the season came to a close, but the players hadn't had time to gel quite yet and the team made its' first 1st round exit of the playoffs in franchise history. They knew they had to make the right choices to regain control of the Pacific Division and Morfeld was just the guy to get it done.

Season 9 Back on Top

Record: 57-23 (1st in Pacific)

Leading Scorer: Wayne Taylor 30.2

Leading Rebounder: Paul Wilson 10.1

Leading Passer: Dexter Kodak 7.1

Leading Steals: Dexter Kodak 2.8

Starters: Dexter Kodak, Dave Williams, Wayne Taylor, Roy Base, Vance Clopp

Major Trades: NONE

On paper this was one of the best assemblages of offensive firepower in league history. The two premier scorers in the game on one team with young offensive minded Roy Base and sharpshooting rookie Vance Clopp alongside. The team did live up to its billing as an offensive machine, but as a whole they lacked a defensive presence and were weak with the fundamentals of the game. Not to mention that the team was dealt a serious and almost debilitating setback when the leagues premier player Wayne Taylor was injured badly in a preseason practice. Thanks to Wayne's hard work he made it back for the first game of the year, but hasn't been the same since. He still struggles at times and people can tell he's playing with the pain.

Perhaps the biggest shock was that for the first time ever Coach/GM Brandon Morfeld didn't pull off a single high profile trade. He liked these players and on numerous occasions stated that none of them were open to being traded. In the end this team once again fell victim to the might of the Cancun team and was dealt a defeat in the Conference Championship. "We just haven't found that correct, explosive mix to get to the top level," said Coach Morfeld. "But hey, there's always next year, " he says with a smile.

Season 10 Youthful Struggles

Record: 48-32 (4th in Pacific)

Leading Scorer: Wayne Taylor 27.5

Leading Rebounder: Marty Williams 8.2

Leading Passer: Dexter Kodak 7.2

Leading Steals: Dexter Kodak 2.2

Starters: Dexter Kodak, Dennis Evans, Wayne Taylor, Roy Base, Marty Williams

Major Trades: Acquired Dennis Evans and draft picks in a trade for Dave Williams

Coach Morfeld knew at the start of the season that it would be hard to win with such a young and still developing frontcourt which included Roy Base and Vance Clopp. To alleviate this he went out and picked up Marty Williams so he could teach Clopp for an extra season to better prepare for the rigors of a full WBA season. The move paid off as Williams had a pretty solid season for the Warriors while leading the team in rebounding. Youngster Dennis Evans had the best season of his career as he finally started to get the touch from WBA range. Roy Base also took a large step forward and really stepped into his own as a premier player. Of course the big show in town was Wayne Taylor who again led the team in scoring.

The team struggled throughout the year to find its true identity. The young guys had no problem dishing the ball to Taylor, but it made the team predictable. This led to one of the worst seasons Coach Morfeld has ever had. The team still made the playoffs as a 7 seed and even pulled off a round 1 upset in impressive fashion, but once again they ended up short of their ultimate goal. Coach Morfeld is going to have to rethink things and take his approach back to the drawing board. Hopefully with some age the team will also gain some experience and it will start to show.

Season 11 Maybe Next Year....Again

Record: 52-28 (3rd in Pacific)

Leading Scorer: Wayne Taylor 26.2

Leading Rebounder: Vance Clopp 9.1

Leading Passer: Jervan Timmons 12.5

Leading Steals: Jervan Timmons 2.8

Starters: Jervan Timmons, Brandon Morfeld, Wayne Taylor, Roy Base, Vance Clopp

Major Trades: Traded Pick #3, #12, and a future 1st to secure the draft rights to Jervan Timmons

GM Morfeld was filled with a lot of high expectations for this team heading into the season. He had finally gotten himself a young PG that could pass the ball around to his big time scorers, and his young guys had an extra year of maturity added into the mix. The team started off the season very well, but an injury to Taylor and another to Timmons part way through the season caused problems in the lineup and the team ended up placing third in the toughest division in the entire league. The coach was pleased with that, but it meant the team would have to play many road games if they wanted to advance in the playoffs. The Warriors breezed through round 1 by beating up on Colorado for the second straight year, but then a crucial injury to Taylor all but ended the hopes for them against powerful Oregon in Round 2. The season was a slight disappointment despite the nice overall record. Roy Base really stepped into his own this season and delivered with some huge games, while Morfeld also added a lot of defensive prowess at the SG spot. The team is still young, but rumors started to fly as the playoffs wound down that management was looking to go in a new direction next season andperhaps start to rebuild the team since this method hasn't worked for the last 10 seasons.

Season 12 Disappointment

Record: 31-49 (3rd in Midwest)

Leading Scorer: Roy Base 23.2

Leading Rebounder: Simeon Hill 11.7

Leading Passer: Kelvin Davidson 5.8

Leading Steals: Roy Base 1.2

Starters: Kelvin Davidson, Pedro Otis, Magic Toby, Roy Base, Simeon Hill

Major Trades: Tom Perkins, Tony Henderson, AND S14 1st FOR Wayne Taylor; Jervan Timmons, Brandon Morfeld, Camron Diaz, AND S14 1st FOR Simeon Hill, Magic Toby, Umberto DiTullio

Nebraska management made a choice just before the season that this would be the year to move in an new direction. The team hadn't made the leap to that elite level yet so they knew they needed to find a new cornerstone and a new method of playing. The team traded away superstar Wayne Taylor in a surprising move that brought them veteran Tom Perkins as well as young SF Tony Henderson. Management felt that the real steal here was getting Henderson. He does so many things so well that once he finds his shot he will be a force in the WBA. The next major move didn't happen until midseason, but the team decided that Vance Clopp wasn't cutting it right now and made a move to bring in young up and coming Center Simeon Hill. Hill is another player that the team feels can do everything they need on the court especially rebounding and defense. Despite the entire season being about building for the future, the team was in the playoff hunt right until the end of the season. This encourages the management heading into next season since they will have a very large amount of cap space to bring in some top free agents.