Deep in the Southwest corner of Indiana, Evansville is set on an oxbow on the Ohio River.  It is the cultural and economic center of Southwestern Indiana.  The college is a small private institution (2500 students) affiliated with the Methodist Church and focuses on liberal arts and sciences. It is most famous for it’s glorious basketball history behind McCutcheon who led the Purple Aces to several National Titles with a non-stop pressing style of defense that forced as many turnovers as any team in the country.  This pressure leads to a fast-breaking offense that never seems to slow down and makes most programs (especially from bigger conferences as they did not get to play one power conference school) not want to schedule the Purple Aces.  They have however developed many rivalries primarily around the state of Indiana though the Hoosiers and Bobby Knight have not as yet scheduled this scrappy bunch.    

Foremost of these will be the cerebral and dedicated kid from tiny McLeansboro Illinois.   Sloan is the most complete and hardest working player in this great program’s history.  A phenomenal defensive player, arguably the best in the country at shutting down star players, Sloan can also score and he led the team in rebounds with his wiry six five frame.  Sloan always drew the best offensive player on the opposite team no matter what position he played or so it seemed.  His matchups with Larry Legend are must watch but Sloan also gets to battle the likes of the X-Man, the ‘Jet’, Bob Portman, Bingo Smith and Doug Collins.  He averaged 34 minutes a game barely coming off the court and was as physical of a player as there was in the league.  Sloan, as competitive as he is, plays the game from above the shoulders as well as he knows every trick and method he can get into the head of his opponents.  He is a natural leader that his teammates look up to for his calmness and the way he holds himself which at times might remind you of Jimmy Stewart without the mumble.  Sloan is known for his toughness and his desire to do what it takes to win. His best offensive skill is his ability to run the court and finish which is the primary reason MCCutcheon pushes the defensive pressure so hard-so they can score with his non-stop attacking fastbreak offense.  He knows with his team’s lack of size they have to do this to have a chance to compete especially at this level.  To the fans of Evansville he is not only the greatest player ever to play for the Purple Aces but the very symbol of what hard work can achieve.  He does not have the game for the Pros but nobody is betting against this guy succeeding at the next level with his work ethic and toughness and a great understanding of the game.  McCutcheon would be the first to tell you if he doesn’t make it in the Pros he will be a heck of a Coach somewhere. 

Sloan’s partner in crime has been Larry Humes for the last three years.  They are literally Felix and Oscar on the court but it gets the job done.  Humes is an offensive player who can score especially inside the paint with a mixture of shots.  Humes comes from a huge basketball family from tiny Madison just up the road and was named Mr. Basketball for the state of Indiana his Senior season of high school.  He was not however recruited by major conferences as he is an undersized post player. He is only about six four but is a good leaper and knows how to get his shot off so it is not blocked.  Humes is not exactly a defensive specialist but on this team does not have to be.  McCutcheon covers for him on defense by letting him guard back court players and wings.  He is not a great board guy as he is usually guarding smaller guys and is too skinny to really block out though he does grab some offensive boards and knows how put it back in the basket when he gets it.  He is a terrific offensive force who just has a knack for getting the ball in the hole with off balance leaners and quickness. Humes can also run the court well which is a must on a McCutcheon team.  He and Sloan form a great tandem of Mr. Offense and Mr. Defense and will be hard to replace. 

The third wheel of this great Senior class will also probably not be playing at the next level.  Stalwart Ed Smallwood is the number one option on the blocks but he is undersized as well at six four and 200 pounds.  Nobody fits their name more than Smallwood however as this post man is small but he brings the wood.  He can score inside and out but is limited defensively though he is tougher on the boards than you might think.  He used his body well screening out bigger guys and is strong and agile in the paint and knows how to time his jump well for rebounding.  This Louisville kid decided to come play for McCutcheon and was a huge part of the team’s success in Division Two.  His ability to hit clutch shots especially from the corner made him invaluable to the Purple Aces team as they relied him on to bail them out time after time with clutch shots.  Smallwood does have some issues trying to match up with the big guys of the Valley and he did lost some minutes this year to some younger and much bigger underclassmen.  Still, Smallwood has had a terrific career for the Aces and there really is no one waiting in the wings who is any better than any of these three studs who basically put this program on the national map. 

One other Senior who was counted on to produce is Gus Doerner.  Doerner is a gifted offensive wing who fits McCutcheon’s mold to a T.  Undersized at six two and coming from the tiniest small town in Mackey just up the road from Evansville Doerner became a legend for the Purple Aces. Old # 19 can flat score but McCutcheon realized midway through the year he had to have more size and Doerner took a seat on the bench.  Doerner is a bit of an entrepreneur as he is said to be the one supplying the team’s unique uniforms (orange for some reason to stick out and so they can see other on the break) and warmups (capes yes capes) and is opening a sporting goods store so he has a bright future. Dale Wise is another undersized post player that McCutcheon might have to put out to pasture this year way too early.  At six four Wise is a terrific board man (arguably the best on the team) but had very little chance of guarding anyone in the Valley and barely played the final ten games last year.  He and Doerner can play but are way too small for D-1 and McCutchan has finally recruited some size so there last days in Evansville will not be as glorious as their early days.  

One player who will not be lacking in minutes is Junior point guard Don Buse.  Another small-town Indiana kid (notice a trend) from Holland, Buse is a big point guard who is the same height as Smallwood and Humes.  Buse is another great defender on the perimeter who led the conference in steals and will flat get in the pocket of other guards.  He also tied for the league in assists at 5.9 a game with the Rock. Boo or Boo Boo (weird nicknames) is as good as there is as running the break and hitting the open man and with running mates like Sloan and Humes he had some guys who could flat finish.  There were some games Buse just flat took over by forcing turnovers and pushing the action on the offensive end.  He does need to improve his outside jump shot and he will have a season to become assertive offensively.  Buse will no doubt be the team leader next year and will be counted on to score more which he has shown he can do when needed.  There was no team in the country that had two better defensive players than Buse and Sloan.  Buse might never be the legendary leader that Sloan was in Evansville but he is the quarterback here and McCutcheon has all the confidence in the world this kid can lead this team back to promised land of post season play.  Of course, he is going to need some help up front and that is not exactly this team’s forte. 

The front line for the Aces has some challenges.  McCutcheon must think small is good up front as his biggest recruit was another vertically challenged post player.   The returning starter is junior Steve Welmer.  This 6’10 250 pounder does eat up some space but was used to bullying smaller guys in lower leagues.  He has not had the same effect here but this lefty can score inside and up to about 12 feet.  A solid board guy, Welmer is just not athletic enough to get up and down the court at the level McCutchan would like or keeping up with the athletes of this league.  He got the starting job due to his size and knowledge of the game but it will be hard to keep if he does not all of a sudden develop more of a 15 inch vertical and the speed of a sloth.  One player who has some size but couldn’t seem to get on the court was Sophomore Dan Godfread.  He can block a shot and board some and is improving offensively though he has aways to go there.  Godfread should get plenty of minutes this season, but let’s hope it is on the varsity and not on the JV as it was for most of last year.  He is one of the only Aces with real size (he goes six ten and about 250 already) but he needs to be on the court for this team to succeed.  When he was in the lineup the Aces were a much different team as they had the kind of goalie that the pressure defense the apply needs.  Sophomore Richie Johnson is the other Ace with legititmate size at six nine and 235.  He like Godfread is a developing project who can board but needs to get more minutes.  Johnson is a bit more gifted around the basket offensively and does not shoot much outside of ten feet.  When these two are on the court together (which is not often) the Aces resemble a real basketball team with a center AND a power forward.    

The rest of the bench for McCutchan is a bunch of carryovers from the glory days and some young, fresh meat chomping at the bit to get in.  Seniors Bob Barnett, Sam Watkins and Hugh Ahlerling will compete for minutes behind Humes and Buse.  Ahlerling started here before Buse arrived and was a stud.  He has some size at 6’1 and can penetrate and run the floor but is nowhere near the defender Don is.  He will play but the other three might not if some of the kids are as good as advertised.  Seniors Buster Briley, John Harrawood, Herb Williams, Mel Lurker and Bob Sakel are in the house and battling for PT.  Harrawood and Briley are scorers on the wing but it will be hard to get Sloan off the court.  Williams can bang and has a chance for minutes though he is small.  There are a few underclassmen who are moving up to varsity who could break in and get some minutes as well.  Junior Jeff Frey led the JV in scoring and boarding and at 6’7 210 has a little size and will bang.  Sophomore Brad Leaf will also be in the mix after showing some good leadership qualities and has good size at six five for a guard.  He played on JV and really helped as a swing guard and does have a future here as he can defend. 

The Evansville Purple Aces and their Coach Arad McCutcheon are as synonymous with Indiana basketball as the Hoosiers and Bobby Knight.  Well maybe not quite but they have won the same amount of National titles.  Of course that was then and this is now.  The Purple Aces and their fans are going through the moving pains of moving on up.  Except it is not the East Side.  It is Division One and the Aces are not quite yet ready to compete at the level they are used to.  Sadly the great Senior Class who helped them dominate at the lower levels is also leaving and the Aces need to find some new talent that is more athletic, much bigger and ready to battle with the big dogs of Division One.  Easier said than done.  Especially when the conference you decide to join is one of the best Mid-Majors in the country.  Yes the Valley is good but the Aces knew this is where they belonged and after a year in the Horizon getting their feet wet (and dominating that league) they got the invite to join this prestigious conference.  This year did not go so well as the Aces just do not have the size to compete in this league.  But there is hope and with the history of this program you know the fans will be behind them and Roberts Arena will be full again with people wearing Red rooting for their team wearing orange and hoisting another title banner.