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| SUMMIT PHOTO BY MATT FOY
Waldorf women’s basketball coach Denny Jerome picked up his 700th career win when his Warriors beat Iowa Wesleyan College 60-57 on Saturday. |
700 and counting
Waldorf women's basketball coach makes history as Warriors remain atop MCC
By Matt Foy
Of The Summit
FOREST CITY - Denny Jerome joined rare and elite company when he picked up his 700th career win. But the longtime Waldorf women's basketball coach had to wait until the last possible second before the champagne could be taken off ice.
On Saturday, the Warrior women sustained their recent hot streak with a 60-57 win over Iowa Wesleyan College that kept them unblemished in Midwest Classic Conference play. But the marquee story was Jerome, who became only the second NAIA women's basketball coach to win 700 games.
After the game, Jerome credited his players, both past and present, for making his achievement possible.
"I'm proud of every player that has been through the program," he said. "I appreciate their contributions over the years, and I'm really thankful for a lot of things right now."
Jerome, who became Waldorf's head coach in 1972 and has spent all 35 of his years as head coach at Waldorf, joined Midland Lutheran College's Joanne Bracker as the only NAIA women's basketball coach with 700 wins. Bracker picked up her 700th win earlier this season.
Jerome's win puts him in elite company not only areawide but nationwide. He became the ninth women's basketball coach in the nation - including NAIA and NCAA Divisions I, II and III - to reach 700 wins.
After the thrilling conclusion of Saturday's game - the Tigers cut Waldorf's lead to one in the game's final seconds and had a chance to tie it with a half-court 3-pointer as time ran out - Jerome was honored by players both past and present, fans, colleagues and Waldorf President Richard Hanson, who led the postgame ceremonies.
"What I want to remind you is not only does he have 700 wins, but he coaches his program in an extraordinarily classy way," Hanson said in his speech.
After Hanson's opening words, Jerome took center stage, where he was presented with a plaque and a game ball signed by his players, all of whom sported shirts reading "DJ's 700 Club."
"I'm very honored today, but this achievement belongs to the people at Waldorf, the fans and especially these young ladies and the many before them," Jerome said to the crowd.
As Jerome likes to point out, he hasn't made a basket in any of his 700 wins. In his eyes, the credit goes to the players who have suited up for him over the last 35 years.
"My job is just to coach, and when we get good people to work with like we do, they're easy to work with and my job is easy," he said. "I'm really happy for what the program has given to me. It keeps me young and gives me a lot of satisfaction."
The way this historic win came - Jerome pointed out that it was much more satisfying to win a close game against a good team than to blow out a poor one - made it much more worthy of being savored.
The Warriors led 56-54 with 10 seconds to play. The Tigers had a chance to tie it, but senior point guard Jamie Hoover stepped in front of an errant pass, intercepted it and was caught in a violent collision with two Tiger players. Her free throws gave the Warriors a 58-54 lead.
"It kind of just came to me," said Hoover, sporting a fresh bruise to go with the black eye she dubbed a "wound of pride" from Wednesday's win over Viterbo University. "The ball came right at my face. I put my hands up and grabbed it, then crash. It felt good to make the free throws."
The Tigers quickly answered with a 3-pointer, but Waldorf's Kelly Houser was fouled after the shot and sent to the line, where she hit the game's final free throws. Iowa Wesleyan's Rachel Mitchell fired a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer, but no miracles would postpone the celebration.
After it was over, the Waldorf players were all smiles and happy to have been part of a special day for their coach.
"I'm part of a really great tradition here at Waldorf," Hoover said. "I feel lucky to be a part of this. He's a great coach."
Waldorf fans will be glad to hear that Jerome's 700th win won't be hastening his departure.
"I just enjoy what I'm doing and enjoy the people here at Waldorf," he said. "I don't have a desire to move on from coaching at this point."
As happy as he was about his record and the current state of his team - the win was the Warriors' seventh straight, and it has a 4-0 in the MCC - Jerome was happy to have all the hoopla behind him so he could focus on the task at hand: Sunday's game against Dana College.
"Sometimes you read about it in the paper, and you know people talk about it," Jerome said. "It's nice to have it over with so we can focus on what our season's all about."
After Sunday's loss to Dana College, Jerome has a career record of 700-305. He built a record of 632-256 in 31 seasons as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association and has a record of 68-49 since Waldorf moved to the NAIA in 2003.
Story created Jan 16, 2007 - 16:25:32 CST.
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